Communication networks for businesses or personal residences typically require a service infrastructure to maintain, update and repair the networks. A communication service provider generally employs a fleet of service personnel or repair crews having a wide variety of skills that address various facets of a large communication network. Communication networks may include telephony, cable television, satellite television, and internet services. Such skills may include low level customer home installation and wire and/or cable troubleshooting tasks, mid level system related troubleshooting, and higher level network element troubleshooting and configuration.
A typical network provides traditional telephony services, digital telephony services, high-speed data transmission, real-time video, high fidelity audio, cable/satellite television services, internet services, and various combinations of these services. In the event of network service interruptions or problems, the service provider typically dispatches one or more service personnel or repair crews to investigate and solve the problems. The repair crew typically has a vehicle with portable test equipment and may visit all areas of the network, including central offices, local exchanges, entrance bridges, cables and equipment beneath streets, telephone poles, and end-user/customer businesses and homes.
Although such repair crews having varying degrees of specialized training regularly dispatch to trouble areas, sending an over-qualified crew to address simple network issues results in significant money losses. Similarly, dispatching a repair crew that is under-qualified for a particular issue or problem results in significant money losses when a second repair crew must be dispatched after the first crew determines that the issue is outside their capabilities.